The Homeless Heart
by kittehkitty2
Summary: "They say, Eugene, that home is where one's heart lies, but I've learned that home isn't made real in fancy mansions and castles, wealth and possessions. A home is an indestructible entity, a thing that never ages or withers with time. Home is family, friends, and people you adore and who love and care for you. All my life, I never knew what such a thing was like, until now..."


**A/N: Well, I have now come back from the dead and, glory be, possibly with a new story too! Funny I always seem to revert back to Tangled... Anyway, I want to first make it clear that this is a PREVIEW ONLY. This is not where you will need to follow or like the story when/if it comes into fruition. The reason I am doing this is, partly, to get myself going, and secondly, to see if it will be worth the time and effort. If only a few people end up reading it, I might just choose not to publish it. I am not doing this for recognition or fishing for compliments. I just have a rather busy life and want to make sure people would find this interesting before I take the time to write it up. If I do end up posting this, it will be after I have written up the first few chapters in advance, so it wouldn't be in the near, near future. It might take a while depending on how fast I go and how my schedule works...  
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**NOTE: This is an extremely rough draft, so names and places are subject to changes in the creation process. However, the plot structure is pretty set it stone. This is the first time since I wrote As Flowers Bloom and Fade where I have actually sat down and wrote like I used to. The combination of writers block and changing life structure kept me from writing, so my grammar and things might be off a wee bit.**

**Anyway, hope this AN wasn't too long, but just to make sure everyone understands: If you like this, _please_ let me know what you think. The response I get will be the deciding factor on whether or not I will write this up and post it. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. Thanks all!**

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The King and Queen of Corona, enjoying each others quiet companionship whilst in the royal library, looked up in surprise as the servant announced the presence of their daughter's savior. It had been a year since they had first set eyes on what would come to be their daughter and her beloved. Beyond the initial shock of finding that the man who had returned their most precious child was also the man who had taken their last link to her, they also experienced the euphoric feeling of relief. No longer would they lay awake as the night labored on, praying to the heavens above to watch over their lost child. Their minds would no longer haunt them with images of their fair-faced babe lying helpless and abandoned in some foreign land, or in their worst nightmares, lying maimed and lifeless in a ditch on some nameless road. For the first few weeks, they would join hands in the cool of the midnight air, watching their baby daughter, now a woman, sleeping peacefully in her room. Sadly, however, their reunion first came with a price. Not only were they jerked into the reality that their daughter had grown up without them, but she was also hopelessly attached to the Western Alliance's most wanted criminal.

Despite the King's initial remorse, they decided to uphold their promise to overlook the unsavory conduct of anyone who returned the lost princess. Knowing the man with whom they were dealing, they expected him to leap at the chance to exploit their bargain. How surprised were they to find him ready and willing to be executed on the spot! The King, protective father that he was, allowed his wife's calm demeanor to decide on the course of action to take, much to her astonishment. As the subsequent year past, they soon came to respect their daughter's judgment. Eugene Fitzherbert, previously known as Flynn Rider, was the best thing that could have happened to them and their daughter. For the princess, he was her confidant, her teacher, her best friend. For her parents, he was her protector; perhaps baby sitter at times, but most of all, a window into her soul. No one could understand her better than he, much to her parent's simultaneous chagrin and joy. She contained such a quirky personality that, though they loved her dearly just as she was, often made her actions difficult to understand. Due to her emotional abuse as a child, she, at the beginning, would often shy away from her new "parents". However, she would tell Eugene the very center of her heart. Often they would seek him out to explain to them why she acted the way she did, or what they could do to best express how they felt. With no semblance of disrespect, he would explain to them the inner workings of Rapunzel's soul in the best way he could. As time went by, their rapport strengthened, and the King and Queen soon came to see him as they would their own son, treating him as such. However, deep within, they hoped that perhaps the bond between them would be cemented through his proposal of marriage to Rapunzel. He had secretly begun taking courses that would prepare him for the position of Prince Consort, should that position come, yet he had not seemingly worked up the courage to ask the King for his daughter's hand.

Yet, their utopian world was interrupted by an unplanned and unwelcome visitor: a prince from Corona's sister kingdom to the East, Forashia. His intentions of wooing and ensnaring the princess were plain for all to see, and he seemed to enjoy proclaiming that fact. He made it clear that he was betrothed to the princess from infancy, oblivious to the Queen's insistence that the bond had not been finalized due to her daughter's kidnapping. However, he refused to be dissuaded, even after Eugene's several passive attempts to make his intentions known. Yet despite her best efforts, the sheltered princess found the strange man most intriguing, beginning to forfeit more and more of her time with her "beloved" to bask in the attentions of this articulate stranger who seemed like a lost soul in need of reformation. It had been nearly a month since the prince had become a welt on their hides, and they soon were aghast to find the prince not only asking for permission to marry their precious baby, but that their child seemed to accept and often return his flirtatious behavior. That consequent morning, they beheld their would-be son-in-law standing before them dressed in peasant clothes, great purple bags drooping from underneath his eyes. The Queen, upon seeing his despondent look, allowed her mothering instincts to kick in and floated over to him, leading him to a richly upholstered chair close to them.

"Eugene dear, sit down," she cooed, adding with a nod toward the handmaid busying herself in the corner, "Would you like Matilda to make you some tea?"

Eugene flashed a grateful smile toward the woman that reminded him so much of Rapunzel, replying, "I'm afraid not, your Majesty, thank you..."

The Queen, behind a worried glitter in her eyes, said with a mock sternness in a hopes of lightening the gloom that rested over his face, said, "Now, what have we said of this business of calling us by our titles?"

Eugene grimaced slightly, tipping his head to the side in a respectful manner.

"Yes, I know. I guess it's a simple habit of mine that seems rather hard to break."

Feeling the room's rising tension too strong for his liking, the King chimed in, with perhaps a tad too much enthusiasm, "So, my boy, what is it you've come to see us about?"

Eugene opened his mouth to answer, but found the words sticking in his throat. Why was he here? Was it to ask the questions that had been swirling in his head for the past month; such as, what have I done to deserve this? Why can't you make Rapunzel see who that man really is?

Yet more importantly: What have I done to relinquish her love?

He had only heard of the prince's subtle hinting of a proposal through the endless gossip of the various maids and woman servants that had never-endingly whispered and giggled these fantasies to each other until he felt the very walls buzzed. He had never believed these idle tales for no other reason than their lack of authenticity. When he "awoke" that morning, as the rest that is found in sleep had decided to desert him for all eternity, he expected nothing had changed. Only until Rapunzel had bounded into his room full of joy, hopping onto the bed to tell him the glorious news did he finalize his thoughts. Why he was here was to receive some answers before he left some explanations behind.

Seeing his internal struggle, the Queen laid a cool, slender hand on top of his, looking steadily into his eyes, saying almost in a whisper, "it's Rapunzel, isn't it?"

Eugene could only nod, finding that if he opened his mouth to speak, the emotions whirling inside him would choke them before they could be said.

Rising from the chair, she poured herself a cup of tea from the tray Matilda had procured for them, replying with a sigh, "Well, Eugene, I'm afraid I cannot understand either. I'm assuming you know about-"

Another quick nod was given in reply.

"Yes well, we have yet to speak to Rapunzel about this. Perhaps we may dissuade her before she makes any real decisions..."

"She told me of her plans to marry him just this morning."

Both the King and Queen looked up with a start of surprise, the Queen's teacup quivering gently in its saucer. Both royals took a moment to shoot a quick glance at each other as the realization and gravity of Eugene's statement cemented in their minds. The King was the first to respond, speaking in a rather astonished tone, his great blue eyes round with the astonishment of his daughter's actions.

"You mean she told you-"

"Yes she did," Eugene interrupted, perhaps more harshly than he would have liked. He quickly diverted his gaze downward in what seemed a rather remorseful gesture. The color had slightly drained from the Queen's cheeks and the King wore a pained expression on his face as he spoke these words, causing Eugene's unease to heighten.

When he had answered the open question presented to him, the pitying looks the two monarchs placed on him in return only set to increase the gloomy despair that had taken hold of his very soul.

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